The Genius of Rebecca Black – a Kyd Pick from Mitchell Kyd

“I don’t care what you say about me as long as you spell my name right,” is one of the oldest truths about gaining fame. Here’s to you, Rebecca Black! When critics rate your first music release as the “worst song ever” but you get 70 MILLION hits on YouTube as a result and appear on The Tonight Show with Leno, who’s defining success?

Tween pop singer Rebecca Black won me over when I saw her “Friday” music video for the first time today. The music is redundant, the lyrics lame, the videography akin to a grade school science project but it is perfect! It doesn’t surprise me that’s she an honor student; I think she’s genius.

It’s rare that a 13-year-old is able to pull off such a giant poke at what we ‘ve come to call entertainment on this planet as well as demonstrate the growing power of viral media.

With her repetitive chords and mundane blather about her cereal, the school bus and which seat to take, she proves that in America today, you don’t have to have a message to become an icon or to outgun the biggest players in your industry. You don’t even need to have voice talent. Or quality production. Or a major label behind you. But you do need intellect and a brilliance to point out all of that and I think she’s fabulous!

Come on America, where’s your sense of humor? I think the sitcoms and reality shows have drained our brains to the point that we are no longer capable of seeing a real comedic genius at work –otherwise why don’t we celebrate Rebecca in the performance category where she belongs? Irony, wit and satire just require too much work to untangle, I suppose, but to me, Rebecca has surely captured it.

“More wacky, less egghead,” is the instruction funny man Steve Martin gets from his boss about his on-air humor as weatherman Harris Telemacher. In one of my all-time favorite movies, L.A. Story, bossman Woody Harrelson declares: “You’re doing some kind of intellectual stuff.”

With his famous comedic timing, Martin zaps back: “Intellectual stuff? Maybe it’s intellectual to you because you were educated with a banana and an inner tube.” Yes, Rebecca, we’ve had a lot of training just like that.

“You’re only given one little spark of madness. You must not lose it,” said another amazing comedic talent, Robin Williams. Madness, yes, and once again, there is that fine line between madness and genius. I’d buy some stock in Rebecca Black. If we don’t beat the creativity out of her or if she doesn’t burn her wings at such a tender age by getting too close to the sun that rises and sets in fleeting celebrities, I think this kid is going places –not on a record label but as an evolving wit on social commentary.

And Kevin Bacon, if this opinion finds its way to you before it circles back to ‘Becca, please let her know you heard it here.